Days Go By
by ShannaA1
Summary: How Steve Rogers falls in love with Darcy Lewis, one day at a time.
1. Chapter 1

The first time Steve Rogers meets Darcy Lewis, she's trailing after Tony and trying to set him on fire with her mind. Or so Tony says, repeatedly, in the middle of his unsuccessful attempt to get away.

"I will replace your hair products with _glue!_" Ms. Lewis snaps, waving a StarkPad around. "The mayor is expecting you in thirty minutes, and you're covered in grease. Do _not_ make me call and reschedule. It was embarrassing enough the first five times."

"The mayor hates me, Lewis."

"Not _nearly_ as much as I do, you ass."

Steve clears his throat, because they don't show any signs of stopping. Ms. Lewis looks up at him and blinks.

"Holy shit," she says. Tony cackles until she reaches over to smack the side of his head.

"Ow! Christ, woman! Don't abuse the moneymaker!"

Steve briefly ponders the merits of leaving the room, but Ms. Lewis turns away from Tony and focuses on him instead.

"So, Captain America, what brings you here?"

"Steve, please," he says quietly. "And, ah, we've got a briefing at SHIELD in ten minutes, Tony, so…"

Ms. Lewis sighs. "Great. Now I've got to cancel on the mayor _again_. Go on, go do the hero thing, get out of my sight."

Her hand, dangerously close to Tony's workbench, hovers over a drill and twitches a little. Wisely, they flee before she throws it at them.

"She's in a mood today," Tony notes. "Don't know what her deal is."

Steve says nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Darcy's juggling a steaming cup of coffee, her StarkPad, and a full-to-bursting messenger bag when he sees her next, but she seems considerably more cheerful than the last time.

"Morning, Steve!"

"Good morning, Ms. Lewis," he says. "Do you need any help?"

"My hero," she remarks, grinning at him. There's a sunny light in her eyes, a far cry from the infuriated woman of two days ago. He smiles back and has to tell himself not to stare, never mind how beautiful she looks in the morning light.

She performs some kind of acrobatic feat to get the bag's strap over her head without dropping anything else, and hands it off to him.

"Thank you," she says as they walk toward the elevator. He ducks his head.

"You're welcome." They spend the elevator's descent in silence. Well, he does. She runs through the day's schedule with JARVIS; it seems to mostly include the best ways to budget her time to actually get Tony to _do_ the things on the schedule.

All too soon they arrive at the lab level. He gives her back her bag and, as she goes down the hall, she turns to smile at him again.

"If I may, Captain," JARVIS says, once the doors close and the elevator begins its ascent. "For future reference, Ms. Lewis is rather fond of Italian food."

"Um…thank you?"

"I do not mean to overstep my boundaries, but I believe she would not be opposed to having dinner with you."

"I…I only met her two days ago! I barely know her."

"Is that not what dates are for? To learn about one another?" JARVIS asks. He's got a point, Steve concedes, but still. It's kind of sudden.

He'll give it a little while longer, he thinks.


	3. Chapter 3

It's Friday evening before he sees her again. She's curled on one of the couches in the communal lounge, barefoot in a blue dress. She looks a little sad, but mostly resigned to something.

He's not sure it's a good idea to join her, but he does it anyway, sitting down in one of the chairs perpendicular to her couch.

"Are you all right, Ms. Lewis?"

"I'm fine," she says. "Just…my plans for tonight kinda fell through. You know, you can call me Darcy."

He blinks at the abrupt change of subject. "Okay…Darcy."

She looks up and smiles briefly at him, a tiny, halfhearted thing that doesn't reach her eyes. "You wanna watch a movie?"

He doesn't, not really, but he also doesn't want to disappoint her. So he nods and lets her choose one. It's something animated, all bright colors and cheerful music, but beyond that he doesn't pay it any attention.

"I had a date tonight," she tells him a while later, when the credits are rolling. "I was supposed to, anyway. The jerk stood me up."

He frowns at the top of her head and ventures, "That guy doesn't know what he missed out on."

He blushes after he says it, because _he_ still hardly knows her. She turns her head and rewards him with a much brighter smile.

"Thank you, honey," she says. "But it's not the first time I've been stood up, and it won't be the last."

_It would be if I were the one taking you to dinner_. He feels her tense up next to him, and…uh-oh, did he say that out loud?

"Do you _want_ to have dinner with me, or are you just saying that to be nice?" she asks.

"Um…yeah, yes, I do. I really do."

She kisses him on the cheek. "Then it's a date, Captain Rogers. How's tomorrow night sound?"

"I think it sounds great."


	4. Chapter 4

As first dates go, it turns out to not be much of one. Tony decides the Avengers need a team dinner, which of course means Steve has to go. Darcy cheerfully invites herself along, because there's nothing she likes better than messing with Tony.

"Who let you in here?" he demands. "Get out, shoo, you're not an Avenger!"

"You ruined my plans, so I think the least you can do is let me stay, Tony."

"What? What plans? Ruined what?"

She indicates Steve. "I had a date."

Tony lights up with mischief. "Ooh, do tell! You and the Cap? I need details, Lewis!"

She doesn't offer any, just smiles and lets Steve pull out her chair for her. The rest of the team takes it in stride; Natasha gives them both a knowing look and what, for her, passes for a smile.

"Stop bothering her, Stark," she says. "Sit down and eat with the rest of us."

He makes a face at her, but obeys. For a few minutes things are actually quiet as they dig in to the pizza he ordered, but of course it can't last. Their phones go off with the call to assemble.

Steve apologizes even as he heads for the elevator with the rest. Darcy just waves him off.

"We'll pick this up later," is all she says. "No way am I only getting half a date."

With a sigh, she starts clearing the table.


	5. Chapter 5

They don't get home for more than a week, and it is well after midnight when they finally get through debriefing at SHIELD. One by one they disperse to their own floors in the Tower, with quiet good-nights.

Steve slumps into a chair once he's alone, running a hand through his hair, and his thoughts turn to Darcy. He knows better than to call her so late; she's most likely sleeping.

"Captain," JARVIS intones. "I did not wish to say this in front of the others, but Ms. Lewis left a request that you contact her upon your safe return."

He blinks and reaches for the shiny StarkPhone that is always close to hand these days. Damned if he understands even half of what it does (he'll never be much of a fan of the Internet, or 'texting'), but he has to admit it's a huge improvement on the rotary phones he remembers from before.

She answers almost immediately, and her voice isn't sleep-roughened like he expects.

"_Steve!_"

"Um, hello. JARVIS said you wanted me to call you?"

"_Good old Jarv,_" she says. "_I…yeah. I just wanted to know you got home okay._"

"I did. We all did." He doesn't know what else to say, or what else she wants to hear. He feels shy all of a sudden, though she isn't here to see his uncertainty.

"_Good,_" comes her answer. It's soft and deeply exhausted, more an exhalation than an actual word, like she's been holding herself up through sheer force of will and has just lost the fight.

"Are you all right?" he asks, concerned.

"_Oh, yeah…I'm just, just tired. Don't worry about me._"

Now that she's said that, he's guaranteed to worry. He tells her as much, and she laughs wearily down the line.

"_You're a good man, honey. I'll see you soon._"

They say goodnight and he ends the call. The clock ticks over to 1:00.


	6. Chapter 6

The communal floor of the Tower includes a rarely-used kitchen, and it's there where Steve finds Darcy the next day. She's bustling around fixing herself a sandwich and doesn't notice him right away, so absorbed is she in making sure to add just the right amount of potato chips to her plate.

"Hi," he says at last. She looks up at him and smiles just a second too late. He sees the lingering exhaustion in her eyes, the shadows underneath, and feels impossibly sad. It's like watching a star go out, he thinks; he's seen her angry and he's seen her subdued, but he's never seen her like this.

"How's it going?" she asks, too quietly. He takes a chance, steps closer to her and slides an arm around her shoulders. She curls into his side almost gratefully.

"Did you sleep at all?" he questions. She sighs.

"Not really."

"Want to talk about it?"

She straightens up, ducks out from under his arm and picks up her plate. That's a no, then. But he follows her into the lounge anyway, studying the weary slump of her shoulders.

"How much do you know about the New Mexico incident?" she says after a few minutes. He thinks about it; he's heard a few vague things from Clint, and a detailed account from Thor, who always speaks of Darcy's role in the encounter with affectionate amusement.

"I know enough," he tells her. "Have, uh, have you been having nightmares?"

"Got it in one, Steve-o," and there's a trace of her usual brightness. He watches her come back to herself little by little, obviously buoyed by the sandwich she's practically inhaling.

"That was a couple of years ago, though," he murmurs. "Have you seen a SHIELD psychologist?"

"Right after it happened, yeah. I've been nightmare-free for a good long while…I don't know why it started up again."

"If you ever want to talk, I'm a pretty good listener," he says. It's the only answer he can give her.

She smiles gently at him, and a comfortable silence falls.


	7. Chapter 7

He doesn't know how much he looks forward to seeing her around the Tower on a regular basis until she leaves to visit her parents. It is, she says, the only vacation she's going to get this year; Tony is too high-maintenance an employer for anything else.

So he smiles and says he hopes she has a good time. She grins back and then she's gone, off to Virginia for the next week and a half.

She calls him the next day, and she sounds bitter and strained. He wonders when he'll get to hear her laugh again: she's been far too low lately.

"_Apparently my sister is having another baby,_" she says. "_I'm happy for her, and I'm excited to be an aunt again, but I could really do without the 'oh, poor Darcy, going to be alone forever' routine my mom's cousin is giving me._"

He doesn't know what to say to that, but Darcy doesn't seem to need an answer anyway. She goes on in this vein for some time, telling him all of her relatives are trying to set her up with the sons of their friends because being single is somehow an unacceptable state.

"_I mean, why can't they just leave me alone? I've…uh, I've already got a guy in mind, so they're kind of wasting their time."_

"Oh," he says. There's no way in hell she means _him_, no matter how close they've gotten in the short time they've known each other. She probably doesn't want to take on his burdens along with her own, and she deserves better than to sit around waiting and worrying for a soldier.

"_It's you_," she says shyly. "_I – I mean, if you…if you'll have me. You, you don't have to decide right now._"

"I've already decided," he informs her. "You really wanna be my girl?"

"_Oh, hell yes, I do._"

He feels as though a weight has fallen from his shoulders. With her beside him, he thinks he'll finally have a course worth following. All his time in the 21st century, up until now, has been secrets and trouble and so, so many regrets.


	8. Chapter 8

They've retreated from the communal floor to Steve's, mostly to get away from Tony's whining about how no one ever tells him anything. Never mind that Darcy has only been home for three hours and they didn't tell _anyone_ until half an hour ago.

She's lying on the couch, her head on his lap. The TV is on a news channel with the volume low, the anchor's voice little more than a hum. He strokes her hair and she sighs softly, eyes drifting shut.

"Could stay like this forever," she murmurs. "It's nice."

"Uh-huh," he agrees. Unfortunately, JARVIS informs them, Tony has decided to come bother them.

"I apologize, but I cannot restrict his access," the AI says.

"Not your fault, Jarv," Darcy grumbles, shifting and sitting up. "We're blaming Tony."

"I think that's probably a good rule to live by," Steve muses. "How soon d'you think we'll be able to get rid of him?"

"I'm going with 'never,'" Darcy decides. "You know how he is."

The elevator opens to reveal both Tony and Natasha, who has the billionaire by the ear.

"You two enjoy yourselves," she calls out. "I'll deal with him."

The door slides shut again on Tony's outraged squawk. They both begin to laugh.

"I'm glad she's on our side," Darcy says.

"Me, too." He looks at her and is struck by how incredibly lucky he is to have her, but can't find the words to say so. She meets his gaze and immediately shifts closer to him, tugging him down for a kiss.

Her lips are soft and sweet against his, and _this_ is the moment he wishes they could stay in forever.


End file.
